Smith wary of street-wise New Zealanders

South Africa captain refused to underestimate the street-wise Kiwis.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith refused to underestimate the street-wise New Zealand team in Friday’s World Cup quarter final match.

South Africa has never won the World Cup despite being a favourite in previous editions. New Zealand is a five-time semifinalist. Neither team has reached a final,although the Black Caps tend to save their best for the limited-overs showpiece.

”New Zealand has always been a very street-wise,street smart team and they’ve always played well to their abilities and they’ve always got a lot of guys that can contribute so you need to play well to beat them,” he said.

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South Africa sailed through the group stages with victories over the West Indies,Netherlands,Ireland,Bangladesh and pre-tournament favourites India. The run was only marred by a 6-run loss to England in a low-scoring game.

Smith said the Proteas wanted to continue their dominance,but hinted it would be a tight contest.

”It’s two quality teams tomorrow,anyone from here can win the World Cup and that’s what makes this tournament exciting,” he said.

”They have some power batters,some guys that really take the game to you,” he said. ”Especially from a bowling point of view,they always take the pace off the ball,they have a lot of guys that can change the pace.”

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But Smith was confident South Africa could reach the last four.

”We’re in a great place at the moment,We’ve had 10 days in Bangladesh so we’ve had to keep ourselves busy a little bit outside training sessions,just keep things a bit fresh in the mind,” he said.